It was great to hear that they had a good car count for the midget show at Montpelier before the rain struck. I am hopeful that this non-wing upright thing catches sail. Although I wouldn't want to see the winged deal go away, I would enjoy the opportunity to run some non-wing events each year. I think there are still a few chickens like me around that have to get up to go to work on Monday's that enjoy the landing afforded by the wing. I guess that's just part of my old age showing. I am embarrassed to admit that last year I played men's league hockey and actually got into the routine of taking Advil before the game so that I could get up and go to work the next morning--isn't that sad. At any rate I am hoping to run the non wing shows up at Liberty Indiana this summer. It's a fun little track and gives everyone a chance to do some Friday evening racing. Additionally, both the A.M.S.A. and M.M.S.A. are dipping their toe into the water with a few non wing events this summer.
It has been a hectic year so far for our shop (more on that later). We finally got started on our own FOZ G2 this week. While I really appreciate Greg Nicholas inviting me to run his car at Lawrenceburg and Waynesfield, I am anxious to get into my own equipment. Running other peoples stuff makes me nervous. The new G2 is off to a good start this year with Rod Henning scoring four victories including 2 at Lawrenceburg, 1 at K.C. Raceway Park and 1 at Waynesfield Raceway Park. Beau Stewart has also visited victory lane with the A.M.S.A. this season in his FOZ. Jamie Paul has a non-wing victory in his FOZ.
I took the day off from work on Friday and started assembling our new car. Although it seems like progress is slow, everything has gone pretty easy so far. Although it is probably pretty optimistic, I am hoping to be ready to go for next weekend. Here are a few pictures of some of the early work I have done so far on the car. Sorry the photos are a little blurry, I took them with my cell phone.
The table of goods...
My freshly powder coated frame.
The floor pan is now installed...
The steering box is installed...
The battery box... that's it for day one.
As I stated earlier, it has been a hectic and interesting year around the shop so far. I work in the steel industry during the day and have seen first hand how hard the recession has hit many of the fabricators and machine shops that we sell to. It seems like many of the companies that seemingly weathered the worst part of the recession are struggling to make it out the other side. Unfortunately many of the racing businesses we deal with have are suffering the same fates. Two of our primary vendors have closed up shop during the past few months. Although there absence has left a huge whole in our product offering—the worst part about it is that they are long time vendors and really good people.
Shortly after the beginning of the year S&S Headers closed up shop. S&S Headers were one of Speed Partz first suppliers. The owners of S&S Headers, Betty and Loren, were the kind of people that my dad really enjoyed dealing with—as honest and sincere of people as you could find. I am not sure that anyone understood what a service they were providing the mini sprint community. They built a great product that was economically priced (perhaps too low). I certainly had no idea how much was involved in building headers and mufflers into we started trying to find a replacement. I knew that Loren was really sharp, but was even more impressed when we took several different mufflers to test on the dyno and the S&S muffler out performed the rest. In the end the only way to address our issue was to start a separate company building headers and mufflers. We have been at it for well over six months now and are finally into full production mode. At the current time the new company, Viper Pipes, offers headers to fit the Yamaha R1, Suzuki GSXR 1000 and Kawasaki ZX-10. We also offer three different lengths of mufflers for upright mini sprints, modified midgets, dwarf cars and TQ midgets. Although the phrase ‘imitation is the sincerest form of flattery’ is trite it rings true of our muffler. Although quite a bit of research and tooling was required, we are confident that we have a muffler that measures up to those built by S&S.
The second blow to our product line-up was TP Wings decision to withdrawal from the production of wings. I am sure this was a tough decision for Larry Bland. Larry is a long time supporter of mini sprint racing and quite a shoe behind the wheel. In fact he and his wife even headed up the A.M.S.A. for a few years. TP Wings was known industry wide for the quality of their product. Building wings is a thankless job. Ask anyone that has even attempted to put a kit together on their own—there is a lot of time and effort that goes into constructing a wing for very little return. We had a whole loft full of wings that went very quick. I had my name on one of them and kept checking everyday when I stopped by at lunch to make sure it didn’t disappear. We spent the last few months looking for a replacement. Although we’ve had a lot of offers, in the end everyone comes to the same conclusion—it’s just not worth the effort. I am glad to announce that we now have a solution in place. We just loaded ten new top wings into our shop’s loft. Although a few are already spoken for, we still have some available.
While it has been great to see a few things finally come to a positive fruition, there are a others that have not. One of the biggest disappointments was my work on an economical tachometer. I had been working with a California based company on an offering that was perfect for motorcycle powered racing cars. It offered a lot of functionality for just $149. We completed our testing and the day I called to place my first stocking order, I was told that they had filed for bankruptcy. Now I find myself back to the drawing board.
Unfortunately the beginning of this year was so hectic that we didn't get the opportunity to do an open house. We rent the second half of our building out to a shop that deals in customized motorcycles. I always enjoy making a trip around the corner to see what cool things they have going at the time. They recently held an open house and boy do they know how to throw an open house. They had a great crowd, a band, stunt riders out in the cul-de-sac and plenty of food. If you're into bikes, your next trip to the shop should include a few minutes to visit Spitfire Customs and Out of the Box. Here are few pics of the open house.
I try to pick a driver for each of my blog posts that I feel is worthy of mention. If you look at the top of the A.M.S.A. leader board right now you’ll find a very deserving young man—Kevin Roberts Jr. The whole Roberts family has stepped up their efforts this year with new equipment and top finishes. One of the things I have always liked about Kevin Jr. is that he goes about his business with little fan fair, yet is generally near the top at the end of every racing evening. Last year he found victory lane driving old equipment. Over the winter he purchased Ryan Broughton’s new style ERC and has already been impressive. The Roberts are a competitive bunch. Kevin Sr. has told me on a few occasions that he doesn’t really think he can afford this, but wouldn’t trade the opportunity to spend time with his boys for anything.
I would also like to thank Kevin Spencer for his quick turnaround on the wrap for my wing. Kevin recently made a large investment in the equipment required to print wraps. Some of you might remember Kevin from the track were he competes in the mod-lites. For some of us that have been around even longer, you will remember his dad Kenny Spencer who drove mini sprints before switching to late models. Wraps are a cheaper alternative to paint and then vinyl. If you’re in the market be sure to visit Kevin’s website at http://www.ksvinylgraphics.com/.
I have to apologize, I have been crunched for time and haven't kept up with the use cars we have available through the shop. If your looking to get started we have two good deals available including a turnkey 1000cc Doemelt mini sprint that has been updated with all new FOZ Race Products parts and a Bailey that can either be purchased as a kit (plus some) or a roller. I hope to get them posted yet this weekend. If you're interested give the shop a call 513.874.2034
How about this for the ulimate racer's cooler. I guy recently dropped this off at the shop.
That’s all for now. Here’s hoping for good weather next weekend. I’ll try to post some pictures with progress on my new car through the week.
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